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Government launches green apprenticeships drive
05/11/09
Edited by Andy Jowett. The government will provide £700,000 to local authorities to fund new apprenticeships to help young people develop green skills that could eventually land them a full-time job, communities secretary John Denham has announced.
A total of 175 places will be created for budding gardeners aged 16 and over at councils with existing apprenticeship programmes or schemes that have been frozen due to financial constraints.
Mr. Denham said the apprentices will maintain parks and gardens in some of the country's most deprived areas, while also acting as "green ambassadors" to promote the health and environmental benefits of green spaces, as well as their role in the fight against climate change.
Former green apprentice Alan Titchmarsh MBE is lending his support to the recruitment drive.
The TV presenter said: "This country needs a new generation of gardeners and I'm delighted more budding horticulturists will soon be able to sign up to this popular scheme."
According to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, there is an "acute shortage" of people with the skills to plan, design and manage parks and green spaces.
Apprenticeships are a "key element" in helping local authorities and landscaping contractors to address this shortfall, it added.
